Frye an option at center with Thompson out

Fortunately for the Cavaliers, the thumb injury that kept Tristan Thompson from playing against the Celtics on April 5 and against the Hawks April 7 should be healed before the playoffs begin next weekend.

In the meantime, Channing Frye has proven an able stand-in.

The Cavaliers are not a better team with Frye at center. They are, however, a different team. That was on display in Boston and again at The Q despite an embarrassing 114-100 loss to the Hawks.

Frye has such a touch from 3-point range that the Celtics and Hawks had to worry about him and leave the inside open to LeBron James.

“With him being on the floor, it’s a different dynamic than Tristan defensively and because of the rebounding,” Coach Tyronn Lue said before the game with the Hawks. “Offensively, you give LeBron and Kyrie (Irving) and Kevin (Love) a lot more space.

”Guys are afraid to leave Channing. That’s why LeBron lived in the paint against Boston. It gives us two different dynamics for our team.”

The strategy wasn’t the problem against Atlanta. The problem was the Cavaliers as a team were ice-cold on 3-pointers, hitting just nine of 36 shots. Frye, who finished with 16 points, hit 2 of 6 3s, Love just 3 of 10.

The Cavaliers lapsed into their lackadaisical play against the Hawks just two nights after playing so well against Boston. Their lead over the Celtics in the Eastern Conference is back to one game. That makes the rematch in Atlanta on April 9 critical.

Still, they can succeed with Frye at center when their 3-point radar is working.

Lue said he does not know when Thompson will be cleared to play and said he doesn’t know whether Thompson will accompany the Cavaliers on the road to Atlanta and Miami a night later. Thompson, who will be evaluated by team doctors on April 8, played in 447 straight games before the thumb injury ended his streak.

“He’s going to try to play at all costs (when he’s ready),” Lue said.

Lue wants Frye to be more than a perimeter shooter with Thompson out. He wants to see more rebounding from the 11year veteran acquired by the Cavaliers at the trading deadline last year.

Frye responded with eight rebounds in Boston to go with 10 points in 17 minutes. He had just five rebounds in 26 minutes against Atlanta.

Thompson averages 9.25 rebounds a game.

Guard Kyle Korver is another player that does more for the Cavaliers than his numbers show. Opponents have to worry about what he does beyond the arc even more than they worry about Frye. Korver also opens room for James to make backboard rattling slam dunks and Irving to drive the lane with little resistance.

“When you have a knockdown shooter teams have to prepare for, it adds a different dimension to your team,” Lue said.

As defending NBA champions, the Cavaliers should approach the playoffs with the attitude they want to make teams respond to the lineup they put on the floor instead of responding to the lineup the opponent uses. Make the other team switch personnel to counter what the Cavaliers do at least until the Finals if the Cavs win their third straight Eastern Conference championship.